A thread on why James Rodriguez will be transformational for Everton this season:

1. James plays either as an attacking midfielder, on the right wing or as a second striker. This gives us a huge amount of flexibility tactically and can change within games easily

2. Last time he played under Carlo Ancelotti in Carlo system he was La Liga’s midfielder of the year and contributed 26 goals or assists in 29 matches

3. When he played for Carlo at Munich he continued to 29 goals or assists in 32 starts again in a Carlo Ancelotti system. So that’s 55 goals or assists in 61 starts playing under Don Carlo

4. His mentality is one of a total winner. He has played at some of the great clubs of Europe, Porto, Monaco, Real, Bayern so he brings that expectation of success. A high tide rises all boats and this will ensure other players step up.

5. Carlo talks about having two types of players in his team. A general who organises the team (Allan) and a magician who can changes the game in an instant (James) so he is following a blueprint from years of success.

6. At 29yrs old, he is in his prime and will be ready to roll. Like with Allan and Doucoure, they can all take tactical instruction and fundamentally understand the game with confidence. The old adage that good players can play together quickly will also help as easy fit in.

7. His key strengths, rated as Very Strong are:
Passing
Through Balls
Key Passes
Taking Set Pieces
Long Shots

Basically everything that Glyfi should have been for £45m but James is a significant step up on Glyfi for half the price.

8. Over the course of his career he has scored 63 goals and assisted another 69 in 231 appearances. That’s 132 goal scoring contributions in 231 games or a ratio of better than 1 in 2.
Glyfi has 75G & 53A in 350 which is ratio of 1 in 3 (including playing in Championship)

9. If you look at teams that are near the top of the league they all have 6 or so fluid wide players/attacking midfielders (think Spurs with Moura, Son, Alli, Bergwin, Lamela)
We now have Richarlison, Bernard, Iwobi, Gordon, James R....this gives good options and high quality.

10. He wants to prove himself after virtually being written off by ZZ. Having a need to prove yourself is a tremendous motivator in life and I think this will bring the best out of him.

11. He is the best player we have signed since Lukaku. It sends out a message that we are serious. It tells other players/agents that we are looking to get back to the top positions and challenge for cups

12. If you think about DCL & Richarlison scored 26 goals between them and they were getting service from Tom Davies and Schneiderlin last season. With James creativity I believe he can lay on more chances for both our strikers.

13. Under Carlo at Real and Bayern he scored 7.85 and 7.63 respectively for those seasons. In comparison Salah was 7.40 last season and 7.57 the season before. So he is capable at performing above Salah’s levels

14. We, as hoped have backed up the fact that we went after a world class manager and are now providing him with the players he wants. He knows he wants to get to the top and he knows what is required. It’s so refreshing to see, that the ambition of the manager is being backed.

15. Who doesn’t want to watch some bloody entertaining football? I think our broader appeal around the globe will be tremendously enhanced, whiff again in the future will be a good thing when considering attracting young South American talents.

16. If you enjoyed this thread, please comment or RT @elpivoteftbl @AndyCostigan1 @theesk @Sean_Lunt @nsno @grandoldteam @bluekippercom
Thanks and
Up the Fucking Toffees